Only Hope
by goalshooter1918
Summary: Hermione is about to go home after fourth year to a world where she can only survive if she is numb. Minerva longs to protect her favorite student, maybe even offer her a place in her family, if she'll let her. A Minerva adopts Hermione fic. AU NO SLASH.


**This is my first story in a very long time, so I'm starting with this chapter, and if the feedback is good, I'll continue. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just having fun.**

**ONLY HOPE – CHAPTER 1**

"They'll need protection." Her voice echoed around the room, breaking the tense, thought-filled silence.

His loud sigh followed her declaration; filled with answers, some good and some not so good. She watched him stare out of the window, his eyes roaming the night sky.

"Sirius offered his house up as Headquarters. He and Bill are erecting numerous wards as we speak. The Weasleys and Remus will join Sirius there, and we will use the house as protection and a gathering place; a safe haven in this time of war…of desperation."

She walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his thin frame, hugging him from behind. "So it starts – number three." Burying her face in the back of his eccentric robes, she watched the shooting stars flit upon the midnight blue of his back, taking solace from his person. "Albus, I don't know if I can take another war."

He turned around, encircling her in his arms. "You are in your 70's, my dear. Convert that to muggle years, and you're barely 35. Without your glamour charm, you look no older than twenty. I have absolute faith in you my dear: in your strength and in your beauty." He gave her a sweet kiss, and pulled back into a hug, returning his gaze to the night sky.

He was right, though her husband usually was. She caught her true reflection in the mirror. Long, raven locks, bright emerald eyes, tall and lean. Though 74, she actually had the body of a 35 year old. She hid it though, playing the role of strict, no nonsense Transfigurations professor, considered much too old and wrinkly to be of any use.

She preferred it that way, though. For Minerva McGonagall, any advantage she had in the world was necessary. From an early age, she became involved in wars and battles. She took a front seat in the fight against Grindelwald. She fought to keep her marriage a secret. She suffered after her multiple miscarriages and subsequent infertility. First war against Tom Riddle (her old classmate). And now this. The second war against the "Dark Lord". The advantage to pretending to be an 'elderly woman' who had been around forever is that she can provide strength and guidance for those familiar and unfamiliar with war. She felt as if she had taught four generations of certain families, and understood her place as a pillar in society. More importantly, she was a pillar of strength for her husband.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she realized that some very important people had been left out of Albus's earlier list of people.

"So am I to assume that Harry will have to return to the Dursley's again this summer?" She asked bitterly.

"Minerva…"

"I know, 'it's for the best', but that certainly does not mean I have to like it."

He laughed, a deep rumbling sound, hugging her closer to his chest. " I do love you, my dear."

Minerva smiled and went to kiss him. But then, she stopped short. "What about the Grangers? What about Hermione?"

"First thing tomorrow darling, we will take care of the rest of the order. Can I ask something of you?"

"Anything, my love."

"For just one night, before the war truly begins, can we forget about leading a war and remember being us?" He kissed her, sucking the breath from her very being.

"Albus, promise me we'll protect _her_."

"I promise." He sealed the deal with another burning kiss, the two spending the night together, reconnecting on deeply personal levels.

* * *

><p>There's a railed ledge at the top of Gryffindor tower that, for reasons Hermione couldn't fathom, remains unknown by anyone but Hermione herself. The seat overlooked the wide expanse of Hogwarts lawn, the lake with the giant squid, the Forbidden Forrest, and some of the Quidditch Pitch.<p>

There was something almost cathartic about the seat that allowed for her to free herself of her inhibitions: to truly think and ponder both reality and fantasy- of what would or what could have been. That last night of her fourth year, armed with a pillow and a blanket, she snuck away from a giggling Lavender and Parvati and hastened to her ledge for a night of stargazing and pondering.

Voldemort had returned. The thought should have sent chills down her spine. Her best friends' lives were in danger, her life in danger, the wizarding world in danger. She had never seen her professors and her mentors so worried. The fear and defeat in the eyes of Harry alone, a gift from the graveyard trip) should have sent her hiding. But the horror of these events had no effect on a girl who faced returning to the crushing numbness of her former, pre-Hogwarts life.

"The train ride tomorrow will go way too quickly, won't it?"

Harry's voice broke through her reverie, pegging her mood and her thoughts. She stared straight ahead, ignoring his presence. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her to him, resting his head on hers.

"It's a sad world," he continued, "when the biggest murderer comes back to life, and we're scared shitless of what this summer will hold more so than the next years here, at our home."

She laughed a humorless laugh that quickly turned into a choked sob. She pulled away, regaining her breath and composure.

"I'll miss you this summer, Harry."

The two gazed at each other, best friends united by unspeakable horrors – his life at the Dursley's and hers…

"You are the younger sister I've never had. Please, whatever you do, be careful." He stared at her, his green eyes attempting to pierce her soul, even after she turned away, retreating into herself and her self-contained shell. She waited until his footsteps had long faded into the night, and then she permitted herself to answer.

"I'll try."

**Please review! Motivation will keep me writing!**


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